business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2023
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Family Islands brace for ‘inevitable’ property tax
Contractor ‘fleeced’ Baker’s Bay homeowners of $10m
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Claims likely ‘tip of iceberg’ for construction sector
THE FAMILY Islands are bracing for the “inevitability” of real property tax being levied on Bahamian owners, it was revealed yesterday, amid “frustration” that preparations for such a move are holding up real estate sales. Daphne Degregory-Miaoulis, Abaco’s Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business that she and other residents were “preparing” for an imminent end to the decades-long waiver that has exempted all Bahamian-owned property in the Family Islands from paying this tax. She explained that this was based on the Government’s requirement that all Family Island land parcels and
• Bahamians ‘preparing for’ exemption end • But preparation ‘frustrating’ property sales • Chamber chief: ‘Don’t do it in one swallow’ properties register for real property tax purposes and obtain an assessment number. Unless they do so, real estate sales that are in process will have their closing delayed because the transaction will not be stamped for VAT payment purposes, or recorded in the Registry of Records, without the relevant assessment number.
Bahamas hits back over OECD ‘non-compliance’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BAHAMAS hit back over its sole tax information exchange “noncompliant” rating by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) through arguing the number of countries with complaints was “low”. The OECD, in its November 2022 review of The Bahamas’ compliance with the so-called Common Reporting Standard (CRS), seemingly deemed this nation non-compliant because eight other countries had “issues” with the quality of information supplied on their nationals/citizens who hold bank accounts and assets in this jurisdiction. However, these eight countries represented just 13 percent of the 60 nations that The Bahamas is automatically exchanging tax information with under the CRS, which is the global, non-US standard for sharing such details. As a result, The Bahamas argued that those states with issues were relatively few when measured against the fact that, in 2021, some113,522 bank accounts from 5,895 institutions fell under the tax information exchange net.
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Suggesting that the Government would not go to such lengths unless they planned to extend real property tax to all Family Island real estate, not just that owned by foreigners, Mrs Degregory-Miaoulis told this newspaper: “I’m sure they are inevitably coming to the Family Islands because of the emphasis that they’re putting on all properties having
• Contractor chief: Reinforces urgency for regulation
DAPHNE DEGREGORY- MIAOULIS an assessment number and becoming registered. “I can see this happening in New Providence, where you have the tax structure in place, but why are you holding up real estate sales and the processing
Royal Caribbean pays for seven Crown Land acres By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Caribbean has already paid the full annual rent for seven Crown Land acres on Paradise Island for two consecutive years, it can be revealed, rather than just the four announced in its revised deal with the Government. Campbell Cleare, the McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes partner, who is
the cruise giant’s commercial attorney, submitted full payment for both 2021 and 2022 in accordance with the lease signed by the former Minnis administration granting seven acres on Paradise Island’s western end for its $110m Royal Beach Club project. The letters attached to the rental payments, dated July 23, 2021, and September 6, 2022, are addressed to Richard Hardy, director at the
SEE PAGE B4 Department of Lands and Surveys. In the first, Mr Cleare asks him to confirm receipt of cheques for $156,000 and $3,360 representing rental payments for the seven-acre lease and accompanying seabed lease respectively. The second letter, sent last year, also asks Mr Hardy to again confirm receipt of cheques for $154,000 and $3,300, again representing the respective lease payments due to the Government. Mr Cleare’s letter makes clear that the larger sum is for the seven-acre Crown Land lease signed by the Minnis
• Company cited by PM Office for staff non-payment By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ACCUSATIONS that a foreign contractor may have “fleeced” homeowners in Abaco’s high-end Baker’s Bay community of up to $10m are likely “only the tip of the iceberg” due to the absence of construction industry regulation. Leonard Sands, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president, told Tribune Business that such allegations were why he continues to “strongly urge” that the Construction Contractors Act be given full lawful effect through the appointment of a Board that will have licensing authority and regulatory oversight for the sector. He spoke out after Endeavor Development International, the contractor cited by the Prime Minister’s spokesman two months ago for failing to pay 40 Bahamian workers their due salaries, was accused by one Baker’s Bay homeowner of defrauding it of $3.167m through the submission of “fraudulent” payment applications. Schumacher Homes Operations, in a complaint filed in the southern Florida federal court on March 2, 2023, alleged that the Bahamian-incorporated contractor and its US-based principal, Brian Dickens, had “stolen millions” paid to
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Nassau/PI resorts enjoy 112% room revenue rise LEADING Nassau/Paradise Island resorts have revealed that 2022’s room revenue more than doubled year-over-year as the industry benefited from the post-COVID travel rebound. The Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB), during a New York event designed to promote the destination to travellers, disclosed that occupancies at member properties rose by 23
percentage points compared to 2021 while room revenue was up year-over-year by 112 percent. The gains were aided by the fact that 2021 provided relatively weak comparatives given that it was still plagued by COVID-related lockdowns and other restrictions. Still, the figures unveiled by the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board provided further
evidence of the ongoing recovery, with foreign air arrivals to the destination rising 71 percent to end-December 2022. Joy Jibrilu, the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board’s chief executive, said in a statement: “Nassau and Paradise Island have always been wellknown destinations, but there continues to be exciting new reasons to visit in 2023 that will lure both new and returning
visitors. We are so pleased with all that is happening in Nassau Paradise Island and can’t wait to have all of you experience a taste of The Bahamas.” The updates came as the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board hosted consumer and trade media, and other partners, at The Institute of Culinary Education in New
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